Farzana Doctor Awarded Dayne Ogilvie Grant

Congratulations to Farzana Doctor, author of Stealing Nasreen and Six Metres of Pavement and Open Book's September 2011 Writer in Residence. The Writers' Trust of Canada has announced that Doctor will be the recipient of the fifth annual Dayne Ogilvie Grant. The $4000 grant is given to each year to an emerging gay or lesbian writer "who demonstrates great literary promise through a body of work of exceptional quality." Congratulations also to Dani Couture (Sweet, Pedlar Press) and Matthew J. Trafford (The Divinity Gene, Douglas & McIntyre). Both writers were selected by the jury to receive an Honour of Distinction. The Dayne Ogilvie Grant will be presented at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre on June 20 at 12 p.m. The event is hosted by Julie Wilson of Book Madam & Associates and will include a panel discussion featuring Doctor, Couture, Trafford, the grant founder, Robin Pacific, and the three jury members, Jen Sookfong Lee, Jeffrey Round and Zoe Whittall. For more information, please go to The Writers' Trust of Canada website.

The Writers' Trust of Canada has announced the finalists for the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. The prestigious ward is for writers who are under the age of 35 and have not yet published a book. Each year, the prize alternates between poetry and short fiction. This year, the award is for a collection of unpublished poetry. The winner will be announced in Toronto on April 5 and will receive $5,000. The finalists will each receive $1,000.